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Defiant

Songs of Chaos, Book 3

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Defiant

By: Michael R. Miller
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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Summary

The great powers are stirring, and Holt and Ash are ready to return to the fight.

A summons from the Life Elder sets them on a perilous mission, leading to steaming jungles and blistering islands where ancient secrets will challenge everything they know of magic and dragons.

Talia, the Red Queen, is beset on all sides by pirate raiders and marauding mercenaries. Empress Skadi has abandoned her, battling uprisings in her own lands. As the noose tightens on Feorlen, Talia faces a difficult choice: let her people suffer or turn her powers against mortal foes?

Osric Agravain has found hope with his newly bonded black dragon, but some wounds run deeper than flesh and bone. Along the Fallow Frontier, he seeks the inner peace that has long eluded him.

And within the sanctum at Falcaer, Paragon Adaskar is struggling to unite the fracturing riders. If he fails, ruinous chaos will break across the world.

For when Elders and Paragons quarrel, kingdoms will fall.

©2023 Michael R. Miller (P)2023 Michael R. Miller Action & Adventure Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Sword & Sorcery Mythology Royalty Dragons
About the Creator - Michael R. Miller

About the Creator

Michael R. Miller: Hailing from the wet and wild west coast of Scotland, Michael enjoys writing stories as sweeping in scope as the ancient landscapes he grew up in. His writing is known for rich character arcs, tight pacing, and layered magic systems. Songs of Chaos is his love letter to the dragon rider sub-genre, drawing inspiration from the classics like Pern, Dragonlance, and Eragon and combining them with the harder magic systems of Branden Sanderson and Will Wight, creating an epic tale all ages can enjoy.
Michael is also ‘that guy’ who enjoys-well, enjoyed... -discussing the mad fan theories of Game of Thrones even more than the books or show, and knows more about World of Warcraft than is probably healthy.
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Continue the series
Reckoning cover art
Reckoning By: Michael R. Miller
All stars
Most relevant
Defiant is definitely a worthy sequence to Unbound.

SUMMARY:

This time we get an expanded POV set with the addition of paragons and an elder.

Holt and Ash continue in their journey in trying to grow stronger and help Talia out in their quest to defeat Thrall.

Talia struggles through her duties as a queen and trying to hold her kingdom and alliances together.

Osric tries to understand his new power and patch old wounds.

Rake well...it's hard to summarise his story as it's fairly diverse.

SHORTCOMINGS:

The book was great but not without shortcomings imo.

Only Adaska from the paragons was given enough character development time. I still enjoyed reading about them though.

I honestly don't know what purpose Finn is supposed to serve outside being a tool for Talia's growth. I neither liked nor disliked him. Consequently Talia's parts weren't as interesting to listen to. I liked Holt and Talia's companionship much better.

There were other minor things but these 2 were the major ones.

PROS:
The writing is superb.

The character POVs all seem just the right length.

Rake's jibing is always entertaining to listen to.

Holt and Ash's struggles are easy to connect with.

The action scenes seem so vivid.

Interesting worldbuilding.

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I wonder where the story of Holt and Ash will go next. Personally hoping for some conflict to build up between the characters (Holt vs Talia would probably feel the most natural) as all core POVs are allies.

Excellent entry into the series

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My goodness!! what an adventure!! Not many stories I've read so far have had me jumping around at work cheering or needing to pause to gather what I just heard at parts but man did this one have a few of those parts! I'm so sad I have to wait to find out what happens now! so many cliff hangers and big twists. big thanks to Micheal and Peter with yet again another great story and another great narration!

Love this series!

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Characters are growing well, if not a bit too predictably. Lots of story arcs on the go in this book, but well managed. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Good book with great narration..

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There were going to be some stronger and more compelling words to express how thoroughly I'm enjoying this series. However, audible does not allow for creative alliteration in the form of profanities.

Fantastic Book

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Really enjoyed the experience, both the book and the narration are great. Now to wait for the 4th book.

Excellent

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